What to do

1. Ensure LaTeX is installed. If you're using Linux, apt-get install tetex-base will do everything you need. You can them skip to step 3. If you're using Windows you have to jump through some hoops. Read one of the following... Install Base Latex System or Install Full Latex System.
2. Windows Users Only Ensure the latex binary is in your class path (in dos type echo %PATH% to see if it includes the latex directory) if it doesnt...
   1. Click on System in Control Panel
   2. Click Advanced
   3. Click Environment Variables
   4. Select Path
   5. Add C:\texmf\miktex\bin to Path
   If this doesn't work , ask someone for help. I am not great with Windows anymore. This definitely works on XP. This page may help.
3. Run the command latex template.tex twice (having downloaded template.tex from this site of course :)
4. Run the command yap template.dvi to view your dvi file in a previewer
5. To get a pdf , run either pdflatex, or dvi2pdf on the .tex or .dvi respectively
6. Once you've got that working , simply write 40 pages of your thesis. Enjoy!

Downloads Available

• template.tex The latex source file
• maynooth.eps NUIM Crest
• vish.eps Picture of Vishal (used in template.tex)
• scientific-writing.pdf Slides from the talk
• handout.pdf Handout given during talk ( on grammar and punctuation etc)
• template.pdf The sample latex file, when compiled as instructed above.

Useful Links

• I could give you useful links for latex, but I find the best way is to use google. If google fails , try google groups (comp.text.tex)